


Payback

by ZolphDiggler



Series: RyuAnn Week 2020 [3]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: Birthday, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:06:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25906318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZolphDiggler/pseuds/ZolphDiggler
Summary: RyuAnn Week - Day 6: BirthdaysAnn's 20th birthday ends with a reminder just how thoughtful Ryuji could be. Well, in his own way.
Relationships: Sakamoto Ryuji/Takamaki Ann
Series: RyuAnn Week 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1873399
Comments: 4
Kudos: 22
Collections: RyuAnn Week 2020





	Payback

“Finally, home at last.” Ann’s front door key clacked uselessly against the still somewhat unfamiliar lock of her new apartment, her free arm wrapped around the bicep of her boyfriend that she shared it with. The once pleasant but now bitter autumn evening air had her desperate to get inside, and while it wasn’t lost on her she may accomplish that quicker with both hands, his closeness kept her warm in its own way. It was a warmth she was plenty used to by now, but one she welcomed as much as ever.

“Well somebody’s feeling as cruel as ever.” muttered said boyfriend Ryuji, his faux-hurt facade doing little to hide his amusement. “Can’t you at least pretend that my super amazing, awesome birthday date plans were at least a little super? Or amazing or awesome even?”

“Oh shut it bonehead” she said as the lock finally clicked and the door swung open. “I had a great time and you know I had a great time, so quit fishing for compliments.”

Despite her tone she was being totally sincere about how amazing a day she’d had, especially when compared to the majority of the other nineteen birthdays she had been old enough to recall. For the longest time the twelfth of November had been just another day for Ann, the most there was to look forward to being a video chat from her out of country parents, and the little extra allotted to her monthly allowance for her to buy herself a gift. She’d grown accustomed to over time sure (or so she told herself), but she couldn’t deny the envy she felt overhearing her classmates brag of their days surrounded by friends and family. Thankfully, the irreplaceable group of amazing friends she had gained during her stint in the Phantom Thieves made it easier and easier to remind herself that those days of loneliness were far behind her. The man by her side who had recently given her the new and awesome experience of having someone to come home to was included in that group, and after letting her know in advance he’d be taking the day off and for her to do the same he’d certainly done his part to make sure this birthday bared little resemblance to those of her childhood and early teenage years.

They’d started the day as the meant to go on with her accompanying him on one of his early morning jogs, a prospect that if pitched to the late riser a few years ago would have been met with groggy curses and most likely thrown objects. However her recently improved physical fitness and the revelation that exercise could be made less torturous with the right company had changed her opinion on it a little at least. She’d enjoyed it less than the cramped joint shower and the predictable end result of such an activity that had followed it to be sure, but it wasn’t a bad way to start the day. Afterwards he had taken her to make up some of those burnt calories in their classic hangout of Cafe Leblanc, with him having notified Boss to make sure that her preferred curry sweetened with chocolate was prepared in advance. After watching him choke down the stuff apparently having neglected to ask for some less sweet curry for himself be prepared, they had attended the nearby cinema to watch a showing of the newest entry in the Cake Knight saga. The experience had been soured slightly when they had nearly been kicked out on account of a loud and proud man pointing and shouting at having seen his girlfriend on the big screen (as a damn extra drinking coffee in the background settle down bonehead!), but she’d be lying if she said it was as endearing and encouraging as it was embarrassing. After leaving the cinema behind them and travelling to Kichijoji for a trip around the stores and an afternoon of darts and billiards, they’d stopped for steaks and Frui-Teas in Shibuya Diner before making their way back home.

When broken down it was hardly an extravagant date by any stretch, and yet to her his words of super, amazing and awesome still did it justice. It was simple, but it worked. Pretty much summed them up really.

“Well don’t go collapsing on me just yet.” Ryuji said while kicking off his shoes and hanging up his jacket as they entered their admittedly modest living space. It was pretty far removed from the many places she’d lived in growing up, but it was more a home to her than any of them in all the ways that actually mattered. “Got one more thing for ya before the night is over.” Perfect. She had hoped as much.

“Oh do you now?…” haphazardly she discarded her own jacket before trailing a finger across his firm torso, the first step in a by now familiar but no less satisfying dance. The next step didn’t come however, him clearly missing the totally obvious cue and just clicking his tongue in response. 

“You’ve got a one track mind sometimes y’know that?”

“Sometimes. Are you complaining?”

“Usually? Not a chance. Right now? Yeah because that ain’t what I meant, so quit acting all horny for a minute.”

“Hey!” Ann pulled away, stamping her foot in protest. “Do you have to phrase it like that? Call it like…frisky or something!”

“Same thing.” His smile told her he was clearly as amused at getting a rise out of her as he ever was.

“Yeah well now I’m feeling neither thanks to you.” Not entirely true, but she couldn’t deny right now her curiosity trumped her both that and her annoyance from being teased. “Fine. What’s this one more thing you’re talking about then?” He pulled a grin she was by now quite familiar with. He’d reeled her in. Great.

“Well you haven’t had your present yet right?” he said as he headed into their bedroom, shooing her away as she went to follow him.

“I mean I guess not?” she said loud enough that he’d hear her through the bedroom door. He was right now that he’d mentioned it, but it’s not like she’d been expecting much more. “I kinda thought the day out was my present.”

“What can I say? When it comes to my girl I’m the gift that keeps on giving.” Ann shook her head and rolled her eyes at his comment as he walked back in with his hands behind his back. Hidden behind sarcasm or otherwise, hearing Ryuji bigging himself up like that rather than putting himself down was refreshing. Part of her was glad how more frequent it was becoming, and part of her couldn’t help but be pleased of the role she played in making it happen.

“Mmhmm sure, just gimme already.” For someone usually so impulsive he was being suspiciously deliberate and slow. She swayed her arms from side to side in anticipation, her boyfriend smiling at the quirk she still hadn’t grown out of. 

“Nuh uh. Close your eyes.”

“Are we really doing this?”

“Close em.” he repeated himself, and with an exaggerated sigh she did so.

“Better be worth it.” she said her hands outstretched and grabbing at nothing. “If I don’t like it after all this build up you’re just going to look like a total tool.”

“Oh I’m sure you’ll love it.” the barely suppressed chuckle in Ryuji’s voice had her just a little suspicious. “You’ve been asking after it for a lonnnnng ass time now after all.”

As she heard him approach she racked her brain as to what exactly he could be referring to. If it was hidden behind his back it was clearly too small to be any of the clothes she would often window shop, which given his fashion sense might actually be for the best. His shirts were comfortable for reasons unrelated to their quality, but no way she’d be caught wearing one in front of anyone but him. A new video game maybe? Probably not. There wasn’t any game in particular she’d been pestering him for, nor one she was keen on enough to warrant all this build up. Besides they mostly played co-op and fighters these days, and after the hiding she’d given him in their last session she doubted he’d be any mood for another. Jewellery then? Thinking back to the pair of silver rings she had bought for them to wear a couple of years back and they still wore to this day that seemed to make sense, although thoughts of rings had her chastising herself for maybe thinking a tad too far ahead.

Maybe.

Before her thoughts could carry her much further she felt a warm hand grab hers, contrasted with something small and cool being placed in her palms. It was square shaped. Plastic? She thought she could make out small hinges along the back. The hell?

“Okaaay.” she heard him say, drawing the word out for all it was worth and mirth still making itself known through the cool facade he was trying to keep up. “Open ‘em.” Ann did so, and as she gazed at the small case and what lay inside it took her a moment to register exactly what she was looking at despite its simplicity.

Five hundred yen. The present Ryuji deemed worth of this grand reveal was single five hundred yen coin, cushioned in a clear coin case that cost maybe twice that at most. Ann was momentarily at a loss for words.

“See? Ain’t it great? Told ya you’d been asking for it for years! Now maybe you’ll finally shut up about it huh?”

…

“Oh man the look on your face girl! It’s worth way more than that coin lemme tell ya!”

…

“So uhhh… what do you think? Don’t leave me hangin’ here.”

…

“Yo, come on say something. You can’t be that mad right?”

…

“R-right? Ann?”

Only half listening Ann continued to stare down at the coin as it shone back at her under the light. Her lips quivered, her eyes watered, and then;

“Pffft!”

She began to laugh. An unabashed, rib straining laugh overcame her, clearly taking Ryuji off guard as he quickly took a step back. Her tears were near blinding and the ache in her sides was beginning to build, and yet her cackle continued regardless. Of course it’d be something like this! Had it slipped her mind who exactly the total dolt she called her boyfriend was? Everything about this gift screamed Ryuji, as loud as…well as loud as Ryuji! From the little she could make out of it the look on said boyfriend’s face didn’t help her condition any, standing there as if he was lost in a busy shopping mall.

“Oh man! You are such an asshole sometimes you know that?” she managed to force out, wrapping the arm she was still holding the coin in around his neck and shoulders, her other hand giving him a playful jab in the ribs.

“Y-yeah? That’s right, I am? So what’s with all the damn giggling? Aren’t you gonna get mad or something?” Where exactly he got off being confused in this whole scenario she didn’t know.

“Why would I be mad numbskull?” she questioned, her laugh finally starting to subside. Unhooking her arm from around him she composed herself as best she could, holding up the coin case to him like a medal and with a huge grin on her face.

“I love it.”

“Effin’ what?!”

“It’s great. I love it.” She meant it too. Memories of that at the time unremarkable day back in middle school, when she’d lent five hundred yen to the panicking boy who had spent his train fare on a gift for his mother came flooding back to her. Five hundred yen that had led to all the lunchtime ambushes to pester him for it back, ones that continued long after she’d long since stopped caring about the money but realized how much she enjoyed his company. Five hundred yen helped kick off the long journey of ‘that cute, loud kid from track’ becoming her friend, teammate, confidant and now so much more in the years following. “It’s funny, it’s thoughtful, and it’s just a little less dumb than you’d think. Given my taste in men how could I not love it?” she said, wiping at her eye and smudging her makeup in the process. Ryuji’s face twisted like he’d just bit down on one of her lemon sherbets, perhaps not quite knowing if he’d just been complimented or insulted. Ann wasn’t sure what reaction he’d expected her to have to his gift, but apparently this wasn’t it.

“I mean that’s great that you like it…I guess? I mean no it really is but…” he said as brushed the wetness from her face. The blotches on his fingers told Ann her mascara was beyond saving at this point, but it had served its purpose by now. “You’re sure you don’t wanna like I dunno…storm off or something though?”

“What? Storm off?”

“Yeah. Call me a dumbass and leave all huffy and stuff. Like, to the bedroom or something?”

Ann still didn’t quite know where he was going with this, but now that he mentioned it he had been oddly protective over that bedroom since they’d left the house for a second time, insisting to grab her purse when she’d left it and being adamant about her not following. Her suspicion at his behaviour not enough to dampen her lifted mood, she pushed past him coin still in hand as she opened their bedroom door. What was there on the duvet had her shaking her head, giggling softly as the end goal of his plan made itself clear. It was a small, bottle blue dolphin plushy of the same design he had bought all those years back, next to an elaborate and colourful hand drawn card clearly the work of Yusuke that sported the same animal. Setting her coin down on the sheets she picked up the card and read the contents, the handwriting unmistakably Ryuji’s despite the very deliberate and uncharacteristic neatness to it.

[-Gotcha!-

-Hope you like the fish!-

-Loved ya forever! Love ya forever!-

-Please don’t make me sleep on the couch-]

“Well…” she heard from behind her, “Didn’t exactly go like I pictured at the end there, but happy birthday.” Too giddy to point out that she was pretty sure dolphins weren’t actually fish (right?), she set the card back down alongside her other gifts before turning around to cup Ryuji’s face, capturing his lips with a hungry kiss, pressing his back to the wall and herself against him. Once she found herself in need of air and confident her gratitude had been adequately been demonstrated, she pulled away. “I did good then?” he asked short of breath himself, his strong hands around her waist clearly not wanting to truly end the embrace.

“Mmm. Very good.” Ann brushed her thumb across his lips before playfully pushing away from him, heading back towards the bed, giggling at the huffy noise he’d made before picking up her new dolphin and hugging it tight to her chest.

“You got a name for him?”

“It’s a him huh?” she said deep in thought. “How about…oh! Junpei!”

“Junpei?” Ryuji questioned with crossed arms, his disapproval evident. “Sounds like a total idiot’s name.”

“Wha-no! It’s like Jumpy you get it? Jump-y!” she switched to English at the end as she corrected him. “Because dolphins like, jump up out of the waves and stuff.”

“That’s…just awful. We ever lose what little sense we got and have a kid I ain’t letting you name shit.”

“Don’t ruin it by being an ass now.” Ann walked over to her man and shoved the dolphin into his hands, before grabbing his around the waist in turn. “Now you hurry up and find a home for Junpei. After all the bed is about to be otherwise occupied.”

“Tch. Yep, horny as hell.”

“Frisky!”

Junpei found a new home atop Ann’s dresser alongside a five hundred yen coin, proudly displayed and never to be spent. Although now that she thought about it that was a pretty long time ago now. He still owed her interest on that, right?

**Author's Note:**

> Day 6 is pure fluff as promised! Hopefully y'all can appreciate this gift as much as Ann appreciated hers. This was actually the first of the prompts I wrote so it's good to finally be able to drop it after all this time.


End file.
